


Bright Lights Within Your Reach

by lyryk (s_k)



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Backstory, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-25
Updated: 2011-06-25
Packaged: 2017-10-29 05:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/316165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/s_k/pseuds/lyryk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Backstory inspired by the Night Travellers episode. Written for Wholas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bright Lights Within Your Reach

‘Ow,’ Pearl says softly, setting her costume aside. A small drop of blood blossoms on her fingertip where the needle has pierced her skin.  
‘Hey, you okay?’ Jack asks, leaning over.  
‘Yeah,’ she says with a rueful smile. ‘Just a little prick.’ She sucks on the nicked finger.  
‘Won’t catch me saying that,’ Jack says with a wink, and she laughs. He smiles back, pleased that his little joke has had the intended effect.  
‘Are you _ever_ serious?’ she smiles, picking up another sequin to attach to her costume as she resumes her needlework.  
‘Only when I’m dying,’ Jack grins.  
She looks at him thoughtfully, sequins forgotten for the moment. ‘How _do_ you do it, Jack?’  
‘Uh-uh. Dead men tell no tales. ’Sides, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’  
He expects more questions, but she just looks wistful. ‘Don’t you ever wish there was more than this? Something better? Bigger?’  
‘Like what?’ he asks.  
She stays silent for a moment as a group of their colleagues goes past, laughing and eating huge bunches of pink cotton candy. ‘They say... I’ve heard... about those who come out of the rain.’  
‘The Night Travellers?’ Jack shifts closer. ‘What have you heard, Pearl?’  
She shakes her head, focusing much too hard on her sewing. ‘Just... I don’t really know. They sound magical.’  
‘Maybe not in a good way,’ Jack says gently, reaching over to place a hand over hers. ‘Don’t you go looking for them, Pearl. I have a feeling they’re bad news.’  
‘Can’t be worse than this,’ she says, her voice suddenly hard. Before he can respond, she gathers up her costume and sewing bag and walks away.  
A stray sequin she’s left on the ground catches the sunlight, and Jack crouches by it and picks it up.  
He holds it between his fingers for a while, watching it shine as he turns it this way and that. Then he slips it into his pocket and sighs, watching after her.

\--  
The night is as damp and cold as the day had been bright and shiny. Jack strips quickly out of his wet, bloodstained clothes into a fresh costume, getting ready for his big post-death appearance on the stage. He’s pulling on his shirt when Pearl’s reflection appears in the mirror beside his. She’s thrown a raincoat on over her costume, and he can see the strap of her small brown satchel over her shoulder.  
‘You’re magical, aren’t you,’ she says matter-of-factly. ‘And not in a good way.’  
He finishes buttoning up his shirt and turns around slowly. ‘No. Not in a good way, no.’  
‘Is it really so bad to want something else? To _wish_?’ Her eyes are huge, equal measures of hope and fear in their depths, holding him within her story for just that moment. Mutely, he shakes his head.  
‘Thank you, Jack,’ she says, and smiles a little sadly. ‘Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again one day.’ Without waiting for an answer, she whirls around and is gone. The tent flaps in the wind, letting the rain and cold in.  



End file.
